Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch

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The Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch includes up to 24 10Gbps InfiniBand ports and up to 12 expansion slots for InfiniBand-to-Ethernet or InfiniBand-to-Fibre Channel Gateways, allowing hosts attached to a unified InfiniBand fabric to share a pool of aggregated Ethernet and Fibre Channel ports.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Introducing the Cisco Server Switch, a new class of data center infrastructure that provides a platform to interconnect discreet server resources together into a high performance fabric, to connect that server fabric with shared pools of I/O and storage resources, and to map the resources together to deliver virtual "compute services" based on application or business policy and priority. The Cisco Server Switch enables the delivery of utility computing by consolidating server I/O into a shared pool, significantly simplifying the server I/O architecture and enabling the virtualization of compute resources.

The Cisco SFS 3000 Multifabric Server Switch family creates a unified fabric that dramatically simplifies the datacenter architecture by running multiple types of traffic over a single physical connection. With only one interface card in each server, all resources can be managed on one fabric, eliminating the need to install and manage multiple Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and IPC cards. All types of I/O can be aggregated and load-balanced on a single 10Gbps InfiniBand cable, reducing the number of managed host ports and increasing availability. The Server Switch then connects servers to a pool of shared Fibre Channel and Ethernet ports via line-rate gateways, and creates virtual I/O subsystems on each host, including virtual HBAs and virtual IP interfaces. When used in conjunction with VFrame server virtualization software, the Server Switch can dynamically commission or decommission this virtual I/O pool to any physical server on-demand.

Table 1. General Features

Feature

Description

10-Gbps Unified Fabric

The Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch creates a single 10-Gbps fabric for interprocess communications, storage, and networking. With just one 10-Gbps adapter, administrators can create virtual IP and storage interfaces in every server, offering a full 10 Gbps of peak load-balanced bandwidth per port for mission-critical applications. Resources can be managed on one switched fabric, eliminating the need to install and manage multiple Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and interprocess communication (IPC) cards.

24 10-Gbps (4X) InfiniBand Ports

With 24 InfiniBand ports in the Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch, and the ability to easily cascade multiple switches, IT managers can deploy clusters today and protect their initial investments with the flexibility to upgrade over time.

12 Hot-Plug Expansion Slots

The expansion module accepts up to 12 Fibre Channel or Ethernet gateway modules to allow InfiniBand-attached hosts to share a pool of aggregated Ethernet and Fibre Channel ports.

Unique Cisco Transparent Topology Architecture

Using Cisco's transparent topology architecture, no changes are necessary to existing SAN and IP management tools over the unified fabric. Servers appear as direct-attached nodes on the SAN with unique World-Wide Node Names, and switches and hosts are discovered using standard IP tools such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), ping, and traceroute.

Intelligent Switch with Embedded Subnet Management

Configuration and maintenance are simplified with a full-featured GUI and command-line interface (CLI) using serial console, Telnet, or Secure Shell (SSH) Protocol, enabling remote monitoring, upgrades, and troubleshooting. The Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch can be managed using the Cisco SFS management suite or with existing management systems that use standard protocols such as SNMP.

Table 2. Fibre Channel Gateway Features

Feature

Description

Virtual I/O for Fibre Channel

Allows a group of servers to share a pool of centralized Fibre Channel I/O resources. Translates between SCSI over InfiniBand (SRP) and Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) at the gateway, and allows an SRP initiator to concurrently talk through multiple shared connections.

Compatible with existing switch-based zoning and logical unit number (LUN)-based access controls. The Cisco SFS 3012 Multifabric Server Switch also includes support for port and LUN access controls through a storage management GUI.

Storage Traffic Monitoring

Creates graphs and reports on storage performance statistics on individual or aggregated ports.

Boot over SAN/LUN Remapping

Enables InfiniBand-attached servers to boot remotely over the SAN by LUN remapping.

Table 3. Ethernet Gateway Features

Feature

Description

Virtual I/O for Ethernet

Allows a group of servers to share a pool of centralized Ethernet I/O resources. Translates between IP over InfiniBand and IP over Ethernet at the gateway, and allows an InfiniBand-attached host to seamlessly join an existing IP subnet.

Full IPv4 Multicast Support

Enables multicast-enabled applications across the InfiniBand network.

Loop Protection

Includes a variety of flexible options to prevent broadcast loops.

Jumbo Frame Support

Supports up to 9k Ethernet frames and wire-speed IP fragmentation.

VLAN and Partition Support

Provides transparent support for VLANs on the InfiniBand network while maintaining existing business and security rules.

Link Aggregation

Combines multiple ports to optimize use of aggregate bandwidth as well as high availability. Supports a variety of metrics, including source/destination IP, source/destination MAC, and round robin.